One great thing about SportsUltra.com is that you can try it out without signing up for an account. You just add all of the teams, players, and sports writers that you want to follow. The site will then pull then show you a list of sources across the web that are saying stuff about what you want to know about. If you register for the site, you can receive updates via email. Filters are provided at the top to filter by team, player, video, etc. A widget can be added to your web site based on a filter as well that will list news on your blog/web page.

This will be great to follow BYU and the Utah Jazz.

There are a few features that I was expecting to see but couldn’t find anywhere.

Where is the blog? I know you’ll can send site news and info but I want to read about how you guys work. Get a blog.

I want to subscribe to my news via an RSS feed. This was key for me. And do you guys just search news sites or do you search blogs as well?

They could also add some other features such as adding images to your customized news page. It is not necessary to be a social network, but the site could use some networking features.

For the most part, when customizing my content, everything was there. A few reporters weren’t listed that I was hoping for. There were a few things that I found odd when adding college alumni.

After reading around a little, I noticed that there are some other sites that offer similar services. I need to take a look at those to do some comparing. SportsUltra fell a little short for me. I’d like to see some improvements in the next few months. I’ll definitely keep my eye on them.

Here are some other reviews:

• SportsUltra Offers Intuitive and Dynamic Custom News
• SportsUltra.com – The Sports News You Want
• New Sport Site Launches Today

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I have been wanting to write about it to get the word out. The more entries would make the blog that much better. But the entries were due at midnight on July 23 (I’m assuming MST). I got my entry in 7 minutes early. Each entry must include an essay explaining why you should be a writer for the blog.
Apparently, they’re looking to fill eight positions. In my essay, I took the position of a young working professional (despite being unemployed) that lives in a different market than Utah.

Even if I don’t get selected, I hope the blog turns out to be entertaining. I do wonder how they would handle incidents such as that ref and his gambling habits. Would the Jazz let the bloggers speak their mind or would they tell the bloggers to not write a word about it? I hope they don’t restrict the bloggers in any way. That is one of the great assets that a blog provides.

Speaking of Jazz blogs, there is one that I have found and am subscribed to – UtahJazzBlog.net. It’s pretty good. Except they expect me to login to write a comment and they only provide a partial RSS feed. I’ve seen others but I don’t feel compelled to subscribe to them. What Jazz blogs are you all reading?

I just finished watching game 5 against the Warriors. They should have won by more but I’ll take the win. They just couldn’t close them out until the last 4 minutes or so. What’s with all of the turnovers?
Before the season started, I predicted the Jazz would go 51-31. They went 51-31. Right on! What a prediction! During the season, I thought they would shatter that mark but they ended the season on horribly. But I also said they would be a three seed and only make it to the second round of the playoffs. Luckily, I was wrong.

I wonder how they would have done against the Mavs had they won. Or if they actually re-seeded the teams like in other sports after each round. But guess what, I don’t have to do that. The Jazz are in the Western Conference Finals! Even the organization will admit that this is ahead of schedule. Everybody will be predicting that the winner of the Suns and Spurs series will go to the NBA Finals. I probably will as well but the Jazz will certainly give them a fight.

The obvious difference in the series was the inside game of the Jazz and the out-of-control offense of the Warriors. Carlos Boozer was just too much for them. But I’m going out on the limb to say something that always makes the difference for the Jazz, especially in this year’s playoffs-Andre Kirilenko.

When AK47 plays like he did against the Warriors and in the latter part of the Rockets series, they can contend and possibly beat any team they play. Okur will have his good shooting games, Williams will remind you of Stockton at times, and Boozer is turning into an awesome post-up player, but when Kirilenko is at his best, the Jazz are awesome. They are good enough to go to the NBA Finals and win it.

If Kirilenko could realize this (maybe he has figured it out?), the Jazz’ chances of winning the conference finals are real good. When he fills up the stat sheet like he is capable of, he is so fun to watch.

And lets not forget about Jerry Sloan. I thought he did a great job of controlling the Jazz in this series. When they forgot to go inside or when they would get out of control with so many turnovers, he often called a timeout and the team would return to the floor a totally different team. Sloan is the best coach in the NBA (my unbiased opinion).

Isn’t it ironic that they do well like this after I move to Seattle? I moved to Northern Utah (Jazz country) in the fall of ’98. The Jazz had just come off two consecutive finals getting beat by Michael Jordan and the Bulls. They made the playoffs for a few years after that but never did anything significant. I move from Jazz country and they finally make it back to the conference finals. I’m willing to sacrifice for the greater cause.

Go Jazz!

It looks like Crowton is following my advice by getting out of Eugene. He needs to make sure to stay at LSU for only one year. Most likely he won’t. I want LSU fans to know why Gary Crowton is going to cause you pain when he stays more than one year.

First of all, let me preface these comments by saying that Gary Crowton is a great person. I’m sure he is a great husband/father. But because of what he did to BYU football, just thinking of his tenure here in Provo makes me cringe.

The news of Crowton’s hiring is circulating around the internet. LSU fans are gitty about this hire. Here are a few for you to enjoy:

• The Wishbone
• Tightwad-hill
• Daddy D’s Story Time
• Redsox Tiger Rebel Truth

Not many agree with me that this will be a bad hire. It looks like David James and I are in agreement.

Let me explain why I think this will be a bad hire.

Crowton runs a version of the spread offense. When he gets a new job, his first year has been great. Let the stats explain.
Chicago Bears

1999: Bears record was 6-10. Their offense scored 272 points (17/game), 7th worst in the NFL. 31 TDs, 7th worst in NFL (source). Leading passer: Shane Matthews

2000: Bears record was 5-11. Their offense scored 214 points (13.4/game), 4th worst in the NFL. 22 TDs, 3rd worst in the NFL (source). (The thing that you want to do from an offensive standpoint is you want to score points.) Leading passer: Cade McNown

It’s safe to say that he didn’t have the greatest quarterbacks to run his offense. Get this though. In 2001, the Bears went 13-3 with Jim Miller as the quarterback. They scored 338 points (21.1/game), good enough for 11th in the NFL.

BYU

2001: BYU went 12-2. They scored an amazing 608 points (46.8/game). Luke Staley was the leading rusher in the nation. However they got killed in their last two games. Everybody loved Crowton as head coach. What a great season! But it was a terrible watching them get killed by Hawaii and Louisville. Coincidentally, Luke Staley was injured in the two games BYU lost.

2002: Their record was 5-7. BYU’s first losing season in 30 years. They scored 272 points (22.7/game).

2003: BYU went 4-8. They scored 196 points (16.3/game). They didn’t score a point in the game versus Utah, the first time they went scoreless in a game in my lifetime.

2004: BYU went 5-6. They 267 points (24.3/game).

BYU went from scoring 608 points in 2001 to a low of 196 points in 2003! This was against average teams in the Mountain West Conference. He was the head coach and offensive coordinator at BYU.

Oregon

2005: Oregon went 10-2. They scored 414 points (34.5/game).

2006: Oregon went 7-6, losing their last 4. They scored 383 points (29.5/game).

There you have it. The only year he improved upon his previous year while at the same program was 2004. BYU couldn’t have gotten any worse after a terrible year in 2003.

The truth is Gary Crowton has a good offense. But smart teams are going to figure it out. Guess who was coaching Utah when BYU went scoreless in 2003-Urban Meyer. Most of the coaches in the SEC are almost as smart as Urban and they will shut down LSU’s offense. LSU has great athletes and he will find a way to make them look bad.

The Las Vegas Bowl was a great game this year. For most fans, I am sure it was a boring game. BYU almost shut out Oregon and won the game 38-8. Watching Oregon play brought back bitter memories of when Crowton was at BYU. They looked clueless out there. BYU’s secondary was injured. They didn’t have most of their best players playing because of injuries. Crowton failed to take advantage of his highly athletic receivers. Instead he was worrying about which quarterback to play on which down.

Be ready for an undisciplined offense that fails to make any adjustments-during the game or season.

LSU will probably have a great year with their athletes. They will score a lot of points. But don’t expect them to stay that way. Not with Crowton as the offensive coordinator. The numbers don’t lie.

They are a good team. It would be fun to see them play a team like Ohio State. I don’t think they would win, but it would be interesting to see what would happen.

I have been impressed with John Beck. During the Utah game, I was cursing his name and saying how he wasn’t a big time quarterback. And then he was the main guy behind an impressive comeback. It will be interesting to see where he goes after BYU. He has turned into a great quarterback.

And Johnny Harline. He will be a big-time tight end in the NFL. ‘Nuff said.

I don’t want this to sound wrong but I kind of feel bad for Oregon. It is like watching BYU circa 2002-2004. Gary Crowton needs to leave Oregon. He has proven that he is only a good coach his first year at any program. Look at his track record-Louisiana Tech, the Bears, BYU, and now Oregon. His offenses seem unstoppable and then he gets figured out and he doesn’t adjust. They start getting real bad towards the end of the season in his second year. Every time!

Just like tonight, they did not make one offensive adjustment. They can’t decide on a quarterback. They get a ton of penalties. Did you see how much bigger the Oregon receivers were compared to the BYU secondary? Bellotti needs a new o-coordinator. Crowton needs to switch jobs every year. Be sure to stay out of Provo.

Anyway back to the Cougars. Something needs to be said about their defense as well. Even missing some starters, they have played awesome. They did it all year. The best decision Bronco made all year was going to a 4-3 defense from his 3-3-5 that he was so famous for.

Bronco Mendenhall and Robert Anae have had to actually learn how to coach. I think coaching is the primary reason they lost the Arizona game. Since, they have learned how to call a great game, adjust when necessary, and to keep the team disciplined. They don’t get penalized nearly as much as they did last year.

It’s a final. BYU 38 Oregon 8. Not the offensive shootout the “experts” were saying it was going to be.

How about the Mountain West conference in bowl games? They are 2-0 so far with 2 more to go.

BYU is playing some awesome football. Beck thinks he can complete any pass. But I am most impressed by BYU’s defense. They are playing way beyond anybody’s expectations.

Why is there always another fan that is so annoying at a BYU game? Tonight there was a dude sitting about 10 rows behind us. It turns out he was a Wyoming fan and he wanted everyone to know about it. He was loud and annoying-but not very often. He didn’t have very many opportunities. He kept at even when Wyoming was getting killed. When you go to watch your team on the road, isn’t it common courtesy to not be annoying? You should obviously be allowed to cheer. What are some rules for visiting fans?

Bill Simmons of ESPN is a great writer. About a year ago, he wrote an article on annoying fans. It’s a great read. Unfortunately, you have to be an ESPN Insider.

David James at KUTV.com thinks a deal will be in place by September 10. To be fair, he made this prediction on 8/21. I don’t think it will happen. I don’t think Craig Thompson has what it takes to put together a deal in such a short amount of time.

DJ says something in the post that I have to comment on:

But after working so hard to capture 34% of the market, do the satellite folks want to turn down Comcast’s offer and drive all the Utes and Cougars fans back to cable?

I will not go back to cable just so I can watch BYU games. Something is wrong with this. I should not have to switch providers just to watch the local college football team to play. The sad thing is is that the schools have no control over this.

Are you willing to switch providers just to watch your favorite MWC football team play?

But now this new deal is making me real upset. I am a DirecTV subscriber and I love the service. But CSTV has signed an exclusive cable deal with Comcast. If I were a Comcast subscriber, this would make me mad. How do the schools inside the conference feel about this?

What do you think of this deal?

Personally, I think it stinks. The conference should want to get in as many homes as possible. Why don’t they make this deal with all cable/satellite dealers? Comcast will not get me as a customer just to watch BYU football from my own family room. There are other ways to get the game.

So what can we do about it? It sounds like New Mexico is having the same problem. The AD of New Mexico has actually asked fans to help out. I think this needs to be done by all Mountain West fans.

Contact your provider (DirecTV, DISH) and tell them to pick up CSTV. Contact the Mountain West Conference (kind of odd their site is hosted by CSTV) to tell them what you think. Blog about it (can you say blogswarm). Do something.

I may have to resort to watching reruns on KBYU at 11:00 PM every Saturday. CSTV could redeem themselves somewhat if they ended up showing the content online.

How can they say they own something like that? Do newspapers have to pay to show box scores? When’s the last time you read an article in your newpaper saying that number 13 for the Yankees had a couple of hits and he hit one really far as well?

What does it take for MLB to realize that the fantasy leagues, both big and small, are what have kept interest in the game? Up until this year, I was in a fantasy league. I stopped because of lack of time and interest. But I do know that when I was in fantasy league I payed a lot more attention to the league.

And good for the judge who told them the info needed to operate a fantasy league is public domain. No license necessary. Now ESPN and Yahoo shouldn’t have to pay to operate their leagues. Give ‘em back their money MLB!

Haven’t you ever heard of the saying “Don’t buy the hand that feeds you”. MLB, I offer this free advice to you. Perhaps you can save some fans, like me.